1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a facsimile system having a proximity sensor incorporated therein, and more particularly, relates to a process for automatically changing an operational mode of the facsimile system between a telephone mode and a facsimile mode, in response to a determination of whether a user is within a proximity zone of the facsimile system.
2. Related Art
Generally, a facsimile system having facsimile and telephone functions as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,343 for Data Communication Apparatus issued to Yamaguchi, U.S. Pat. No. 4,908,851 for Facsimile Apparatus Operable In Facsimile Or Conversation Mode issued to Kotani et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,427 for Fax/Data Call Receiving System And Method issued to Godbole, U.S. Pat. No. 5,255,311 for Data Communication Apparatus issued to Yoshida, U.S. Pat. No. 5,260,991 for Facsimile Apparatus issued to Ikegaya, U.S. Pat. No. 5,323,451 for Facsimile Device And Automatic Receiving Method issued to Yatsunami, U.S. Pat. No. 5,448,378 for Data Transmitting Apparatus And Method For Executing Both Facsimile Communication And Data Communication Without Suspending A Communication Line issued to Matsumoto, U.S. Pat. No. 5,428,673 for Data Communication Apparatus Having The Function Of Automatically Switching Data Communication And Telephone Communication issued to Nakagawa, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,105 for Facsimile Apparatus Operable In Facsimile Or Telephone Mode issued to Sakai, is well known in the communication art for selectively operating either in a facsimile mode or in a telephone mode in dependence upon the type of signal sent from an originating side.
Other facsimile systems as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,086,455 for Facsimile Arrangement Having Automatic Answering Telephone Set And Facsimile Set And Switching Process Therefor issued to Satomi et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,131,026 for Facsimile System Having Auto-Answering Function issued to Park, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,333,179 for Facsimile Apparatus With Automatic Answering Telephone Function issued to Yamamoto et al., are constructed with an automatic telephone answering device for recording a voice message from a calling subscriber when a user is not in the vicinity of the facsimile system to answer an incoming call.
In such a system, the facsimile machine and the telephone answering machine must be set manually by the owner in an automatic voice answer mode in order to receive both fax and voice messages when the owner is absent. When the facsimile system is set in the automatic voice answer mode, and a call comes in, the telephone answering machine answers and plays the recorded announcement. If the call is from a person, the calling subscriber can leave a message following the normal instructional procedure for the answering machine. If the call is from another facsimile system however, the facsimile system switches over to a facsimile mode for automatically receiving the document. In this arrangement, if the user neglects or fails to manually set the facsimile system and the telephone answering device in this operating mode however, the facsimile system and the telephone have difficulty in timely performing telephone and image data reception functions. Hence, the facsimile system can only selectively receive the caller's voice or data message according to either a telephone mode or a facsimile mode.
In order to facilitate the image data reception and automatic answer functions from a remote distance, a facsimile system equipped with a telephone has recently been constructed such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,189,693 for Remote Control Facsimile Apparatus With Remotely Set Operation Mode issued to Nakajima, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,216,706 for Communication Apparatus Having Remote Control Operation Mode issued to Nakajima, to incorporate a remote control operational mode in which respective image data reception and automatic answer functions can be controlled based on a predetermined remote control code transmitted from a remote telephone terminal. Using this construction however, the user must either memorize the remote control code or carry a wallet-sized card containing such remote control code in order to remotely control the functions of the facsimile system. I have found however, that even if the user carries the card containing such a remote control code, there may still be other problems inherently associated with the remote mode conversion operation such as, for example, entry of an incorrect code when the user fails to enter the correct remote control code. Accordingly, further operational mode improvement for the convenience of the user may be contemplated.